Strangers
by livinglife
Summary: When Sam meets someone who makes her feel loved like Danny never did she runs away with him. But he isn't as perfect as he seems, and he has sinister plans for Sam. Can Danny save her before it's too late?
1. Night Time Scares

_**I know that I already have two other stories in progress right now but I was dying to make a DXS Fic. This will be my first so criticism is welcome.**_

Samantha Manson (although if anyone called her Samantha besides her mother she would probably beat them up) was walking toward her house with thoughts bouncing around her head like ping-pong balls.

She squinted at her watch under the street lamp and realized that it was almost two in the morning. Her parents were going to kill her. Although that would soon become the least of her worries as the night continued.

It was a nice enough night. The stars were shining and the creatures of the night were doing their thing. Crickets chirped in lawns, bugs hummed around porch lights, and even a bat or two flew around looking for food.

Danny, Tucker, and Sam had just finished fighting several ghosts. Well, Danny was the one who did the fighting but Sam was still there for support. Most of the ghosts were simply mutated animals sent courtesy of Vlad Plasmius. Then the three friends went their separate ways to go home.

Sam had watched the fights with admiring eyes. Danny had gotten so much stronger since the ghost portal accident. He had also grown in other ways. He was cockier, more confident, more handsome…

She shook her head as if clearing out the last thought and continued walking. It was a cold spring night and she shivered a little in her short black skirt and tank top. "I have to start wearing something warmer than this." She muttered to herself.

Almost in her head she heard a strange voice. _"I think_ _you look much better in your short amount of clothing." _Sam looked around. No one was there and all that she heard was the wind. If she had been feeling brave at that moment she would have yelled at her follower and told them to show themselves. But since she was alone late at night and Amity was frequently haunted she was feeling more cowardly by the minute.

Her thoughts took over her mind again as she resumed walking towards her house that seemed like it was miles away. More Danny filled thoughts came unwanted to her. The way he smiled, the way he was forgetful and funny. If only he liked her back.

The wind grew louder and the night grew colder as if something bad was going to come. Sam wrapped her arms around herself and distracted her fear by saying her thoughts out loud. "Of course Danny and I couldn't be together. If we broke up than our friendship would split as well. I certainly don't want that."

The eerie voice that seemed to belong to the air came back. Echoing her words. _"You certainly don't want that." _Thenthe wind abruptly stopped.

Sam looked around and this time called out, "Who's there? Is that you Danny?" Even before the wind came back Sam knew the answer; she was just too afraid to admit it.

The wind became even harsher and the air more frigid. _"No." _was all that it said and that was enough to make Sam's blood freeze. She glanced around once more before she turned around and continued walking towards her house. Her footsteps seemed to echo and she stopped.

There were still footsteps behind her. Sam spun around and saw no one. The footsteps had ceased. Then Sam half walked half jogged to her house that was only two blocks away.

Footfalls continued behind her. They still sounded like the person was walking at a normal pace, but they never faded which meant that the jogging Sam was not getting any farther away. It was like being on a treadmill

Still no one was behind her when she looked over her shoulder. She wished more than anything that Danny was here right now. Sam hated being the damsel in distress but now that the danger was real, and there was no one the save her she longed for being the one carried to safety in Danny's arms.

Finally she remembered her self defense classes that her mother had insisted on her taking just for this sort of thing. Ok so it was for human rapists, and ok so ghosts probably didn't feel it when you tried to beat them up without ghost powers, but she could still try. She hadn't needed to defend herself for so long that she had forgotten most of her training up till now.

She turned around and finally saw a figure standing ten feet behind her. It wasn't necessarily a ghost. It didn't glow and looked like a human, but she couldn't see its face. There was an unhelpful lack of street lights out here and all that she saw of the person was his silhouette.

"What do you want?" she said trying to sound as menacing as she could. The figure took a step forward and Sam took one back. Who ever or whatever this thing was it was not something good.

"What I want is for me to know and you to find out eventually." If Sam had sounded menacing than this guy sounded like evil incarnate. Chills went up Sam's spine. He advanced on her and she turned and ran.

Wind whipped her hair around her head as she sprinted towards her house. It was almost like it was trying to push her back to _him_. Her side ached and she was out of breath. That was odd because she was in great shape.

After what felt like long strenuous hours of marathon running Sam finally made it to her mansion. She could sense the stranger somewhere but she could not see him. She reached inside a little hidden pocket on her skirt and pulled out her key.

In her fear she dropped the key and when she bent over to pick it up she almost half expected to feel him grab her from behind. Nothing came but as soon as she stood up the wind began to howl. It pulled at her clothes as if trying to rip them from her body. And she was positive that that was what it wanted to do.

She tried to scream but the wind ripped the sounds from the air and shredded it. Even the air vanished and Sam started to turn blue. Where oh where was Danny?

Her lungs burned and her eyes watered as she felt the lack of air begin to kill her. She gasped and collapsed onto her porch. Suddenly the terrifying wind stopped. The street in front of her house was empty and silence greeted her ears.

Then the sounds of the night continued like they had never stopped. Sam looked around for her pursuer once more and felt relived that he was no where to be seen. She unlocked the door to her house and went inside.

"Samantha Manson where have you been!" Sam's mother was standing in front of Sam in her bright pink night gown with a very angry look on her face. "It's nearly two thirty in the morning and you have only just come home!" Half an hour. The walk home had lasted half an hour. Usually it took about ten minutes.

Sam looked up at her mother and said, "Nothing really happened. I just took the long way home." If she had mentioned the evil follower she had encountered then her mother wouldn't let her leave the house for a very long time.

"Well next time you decide to stare at nature try doing it in the daytime when you can actually see it!" Sam smiled at her worrywart mother and walked up the stairs to her room. She planned to call the police in the morning, but unfortunately by then she would forget all about her little experience.

Outside on the silent street stood Sam's stalker. He stood in front of the huge house barely feeling the wind blow past him. Sooner or later he would get his master's prize. Master always gets his prize.

The figure's eyes blazed red and he vanished into thin air; leaving the wind to rattle against the window of his victim's room and keep her awake all night.


	2. A Game Of Love And Laughter

Danny rolled over in his sleep. He was dreaming, but it was a strange dream.

Sam, Valerie, and Paulina were there. Danny looked at the three girls as thoughts rushed through his head, some stranger than others. Paulina was so very beautiful, but so shallow and cruel. She vanished as he dismissed her from his heart, and turned to look at the next girl.

Valerie was once his girlfriend, she was kind and also pretty, but she had valued her hobby of ghost hunting over his affection. Danny's heart ached as he let go of Valerie, but he knew he had to move on. "Goodbye" Danny whispered. She also vanished and Danny turned towards the last and final girl.

Sam. She was the loveliest of all. Her dark hair and pretty smile contributed to that, but it was her heart that made her better than the rest. Here was a person who could take the ugliest bug and find beauty. Weeds were roses in her eyes, and she would never kill anything, even for food. Danny watched as she smiled at him and came closer. His heart raced as she gently leaned forward, and he also bent closer. Their lips were millimeters from each other when…

Danny woke up. He sat up in bed and said to the empty air, "I love Sam!" He looked at his clock and for the first time was glad that it was time to go to school. School meant that Sam would walk to school with him. Tucker would be there too, but Danny had a sneaking suspicion that his wise mouth friend had known all along.

The rest of the morning Danny sped around the house getting ready. He spent longer in the shower than usual and would have stayed in for several more minutes if Jazz hadn't kicked him out. Finally Sam arrived at his door with Tucker and they began walking to school. It would take awhile, but a few days ago Sam had insisted walking the few miles would be good for them.

Sam was a mess. Her black hair was untidy and she had dark circles (not the usual ones from makeup) around her eyes. Tucker was unusually quite after Sam had yelled at him after he had commented about the way she looked.

As they walked Danny mentally built up his courage. The trio was silent for most of the time, and they were almost to school when Danny had enough courage. "Uh, Sam?" she looked at him sleepily and he continued. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time, and last night I had a dream, and I, uh, shoot." Blue smoke snaked out of Danny's open mouth and he changed into his ghost form.

"I'll tell you later Sam. Tucker, could you cover for me? I should be back soon; it's probably the Box Ghost, but just in case." Tucker nodded and Danny flew off, secretly hating the ghost that interrupted him, and thanking the ghost for giving him more time to work on his confession of love to Sam.

Sam watched him fly away and then turned and continued walking. Tucker watched her carefully. He knew that Danny and Sam both had crushes on each other. For a second he had seen hope in Sam's tired eyes as Danny began his confession. Then the ghost had come. Tucker was positive that Danny had realized his feelings for Sam. He smirked. Today would be interesting.

As they continued their walk to school Sam felt her heart beat slow down after the brief moment Danny had spoken. She had loved Danny since she had first met him at the start of ninth grade, and almost everyone had known except Danny. Sam felt faint hope that maybe Danny loved her back.

Apparently the ghost Danny had been fighting hadn't been something as weak as the Box Ghost. He was missing for most of the day but finally showed up at lunch. Every now and then he would twitch or flinch as if he was in pain. When he sat down at the trio's table Sam stared at him expectantly but he said nothing about their earlier conversation.

"Dude, are you okay? You keep twitching. Was it Plasmius or a ghost like that?" Tucker looked at his friend concernedly. Danny looked at him as if thinking about what to say. When he spoke it was slow and sounded kind of strange.

"Yeah. The ghost was really strong. It was a new one though, and I barely escaped."

Tucker looked worried. "How did you beat it?" To his surprise Danny started laughing.

"You should see the look on your face! You look like I just said that PDAs were being discontinued." Danny wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and continued. "The ghost was this weird shape shifter thing that changed into the funniest thing in my head. It tried to get me to laugh myself to death."

"So what did it turn into?" Tucker asked with an irritated tone in his voice. "If this isn't another joke. You shouldn't make fun of people who are concerned for you."

Danny became serious. "I was just kidding. Jeez what's a guy got to do to get some laughs around here? If you need to know it turned into Sam."

Since she had been lying on the table half asleep, Sam jerked her head up and stared at Danny. Tucker's eyes widened beyond proportion and waited for Danny to claim it was a joke. Danny never did.

Sam, who was exhausted from the wind howling all night, blew up. "What's funny about me? When did I become a clown? This makeup's black not red!" She glared at Danny who simply shrugged.

"Let's see… you're a Goth who likes animals and plants, you wear way too much mascara, oh! And we can't forget the numerous times you've tried to flirt with me." Danny had a faint smirk on his lips as he told this to Sam.

Tucker watched both of his friends along with the rest of the cafeteria. "I've never flirted with you!" was the only comeback poor Sam could make.

Danny continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Get it through your head Sam. I don't love you. You're more of the comical sidekick type person." Sam stood up, and to the other student's and Tucker's surprise she burst into tears for the first time.

"I- I- thought maybe…" she sobbed louder and ran out of the cafeteria. The silence was deafening as everyone stared at Danny, who had continued eating his lunch. Whispers spread through the student body and Tucker sat with his mouth hanging open.

"If you sit like that much longer you'll catch flies." Danny said. Tucker closed his mouth and then glared at his friend.

"That was harsh Danny. She really liked you! What's wrong with you?" Tucker stalked off, leaving Danny alone to eat.

Danny twitched again and doubled over in pain. He stood up and walked out of the cafeteria with the eyes of everyone on him. Danny walked until he found a broom closet and he stepped inside.

The hallway outside the closet was empty. It was a good thing too. Screams of pain echoed from the closet. Through the clouded window you could see the outline of a solitary figure shifting into odd positions.

Then the one figure became two, and the screams stopped. The closet door opened and inside you could see Danny Fenton lying unconscious on the ground. Floating over him was the ghost Sam had been pursued by last night. The closet was dark and you couldn't see the ghost clearly.

"Overshadowing is definitely my favorite power." He said. The ghost's expression was the same one Danny had worn when he had insulted Sam. He flew off in a rush of cold wind.

_**I hope that everyone understood that Danny had been overshadowed ever since he got back from the ghost fight.**_


	3. Sweet Talk

Sam was outside on the lawn by the back of the school. She was still crying, and she could feel mascara filled tears run down her cheeks. Two sneakers appeared beside her and she assumed that it was Tucker. "Leave me alone Tucker." She said in a quivering voice.

The figure sat down beside her and now Sam thought that it was Danny. "Why did you say that in the cafeteria?" she asked, and when the person still did not answer she turned to look at him. She came face to face with a stranger.

His eyes were a surprising shade of silver-grey, and he was staring at Sam. He was tall, with light brown hair, and to Sam he seemed incredibly handsome. The stranger smiled and said, "I'm not Tucker and I didn't talk to you in the cafeteria. Does that mean I still have to leave?" he asked, and his voice was calm and kind.

Sam stuttered out an answer. "N-no, sorry, I'm Sam Manson, and you are…?" He smiled again and held out his hand.

"I'm Eric. I've just moved here and was about to walk into school when I saw you run behind it. I thought you might like some company." He winked and said, "You're not afraid to talk to strangers are you?"

Something about Eric made Sam feel scared. If she could remember the night before, she would have realized that she had felt the same both times, but she quickly forgot that feeling and went back to being her old depressed self.

"Go away Eric. I don't want to talk." Sam waited for Eric to leave, but instead he smiled, and this time Sam noticed that it seemed to closely resemble a sneer.

"What caused you to become so isolated? Are your friends out to beat you or something?" Those strange silver eyes stared into Sam's and then Eric said, "It's like you have eyes of steel protecting your true emotions."

For a moment Sam was sure that Eric had been reading her mind, but she assured herself that that was impossible. "No one understands me." She said, and she was surprised to hear herself talking. "Sometimes I just want to scream."

Eric brought his hand up to Sam's face and wiped off a tear that Sam hadn't noticed. She was both shocked and embarrassed until he said, "It's okay to cry, but you should know what you are crying about first."

Sam blinked. She hadn't thought really of what she was crying about yet. Then she realized that she was crying over all the hope that she had lost, the hope that Danny loved her.

Eric continued. "Tears come and go, but the pain inside your heart will always stay." Sam stared into Eric's still unblinking silver eyes. "I'll help if you let me."

"If you want, I can help you get your heart back on the right track, if you're having love issues." He added the last part quickly, and again Sam had that weird feeling like he could read minds.

"What you need is someone who appreciates you. Someone who would care for you, and wouldn't insult you."

Sam knew where this was going, but she played along anyway. "And who would that be?" she asked.

Eric held out his hand. "Hello, I'm Eric, age fourteen; I think you are unique, charming and beautiful." He said this so seriously that Sam tried not to laugh. "After all, the cure for pain is most often love."

He smiled and stood up. "Well, I think that I've said enough." Eric began to walk away. "Do me a favor Sam." He said. "Don't throw away your love on someone who will treat you poorly." Then he turned and left without looking back.

Sam watched him go. Who was this mysterious boy who had confessed his love within minutes? She had waited for Danny to even give a hint that he loved her from the moment she met him!

She didn't return to school. To be honest she didn't think she could face Danny after what he had done to her. That and the fact that Eric would be there too. Instead she walked out of the school grounds and towards town.

Danny woke up in the broom closet and looked around in shock. He couldn't remember what had happened since his battle with the ghost. In fact, he couldn't remember the battle with the ghost. He had sensed it, changed into his ghost form, and when he had flown off looking for it…

That was all he could remember, and he decided that he should find Tucker and Sam. They might know what had happened, and maybe he would have enough courage to tell Sam his feelings.

The hall outside the broom closet was full of students, and when he walked out Danny noticed that he was getting very mean looks from people. After a few minutes of searching he found Tucker at his locker and tapped him on the shoulder.

Tucker spun around and glared at Danny. Danny flinched and said, "Do you know where Sam is? Do you know what happened to me since the ghost fight? Why is everyone so grouchy today? I have something I want to tell Sam. Are you going to answer me!"

Danny's friend had been quiet the whole time and finally spoke. "Hmm, let's see, I don't know, you came back from the ghost fight acting like you were crazy, the whole cafeteria saw you make Sam cry, Sam ran from the cafeteria crying so she probably doesn't want to talk to you, and since you keep talking I decided to answer."

A small gasp was all that came from Danny's mouth, and then a jumbled reply, "What? I don't remember… I made Sam cry?... Sam's gone?" Then realization smacked into Danny's mind and he shouted out, "I was overshadowed!"

Luckily the hall was empty because the bell had rung, and the only person who heard Danny's explanation was Tucker. He stared at Danny with first angry eyes, then the realization hit him too, and he said, "What ghost would overshadow you to get at Sam?"

Danny shook his head. "I have a bad feeling that this is Vlad's work. The only problem is that Vlad can't overshadow someone and use that person's voice. You would have noticed if my voice sounded like Vlad's"

"Maybe it was one of Vlad's minions!" Tucker said. "Whoever it was that overshadowed you made it sound like you hated Sam." Danny groaned and Tucker said, "What?"

"This morning I woke up and realized I loved Sam." Danny said. Tucker turned pale.

"We need to find Sam, and then I can tell her that I told her so." He said.

Danny changed into his ghost form and was about to grab Tucker and fly away when his ghost sense went off. This time he didn't have to look for the ghost; it was standing right in front of him.

You couldn't see the ghost very clearly, but it was the same one who had overshadowed Danny. The hallway had become dark, and the ghost spoke. His voice was terrifyingly malevolent, "You two are not getting anywhere near Sam. I have worked hard on her and I am not letting you ruin all of my work."

Danny and Tucker barely had a second to think before the whole hallway became pitch black.


	4. Keeping Appearances

Sam wandered around Amity Park in a daze. Something about Eric was so strange, and yet she couldn't ignore the feelings she had felt towards him. He was almost too nice, but after what Danny had said to her at lunch she wasn't quite emotionally stable.

Her love for Danny had grown so much that it was hard to keep in, and when Danny had started talking to her on their walk to school she had felt her heart soar. For a moment she had hoped that maybe he had felt the same way about her; until lunch that is.

Adding Eric into the jumbled mess was too much. He seemed sweet, and Sam _had_ felt better after talking to him, but he also had confessed his love after a few minutes, and people like that usually end up being psychopaths. Well, on TV anyway.

She continued wandering, totally unaware of what was happening back at the school she had left.

In the dark hallway Danny's eyes were glowing and he was glad that one of his powers was the ability to see in the dark. He looked over at Tucker who was standing still with a terrified look on his face.

Danny turned to confront the ghost and saw it streaking towards him. He turned intangible and fell through the floor seconds before the ghost would have collided with him.

When he floated up above the floor he saw that the ghost was gone and the lights had turned back on. Danny changed back to normal and looked at Tucker, who twitched slightly and said, "I'd better go find Sam. She might not be too happy to see you, but after I've talked to her she should be fine."

Before Danny could say anything Tucker walked off. Danny opened his mouth and closed it, then changed back into his ghost form. Maybe he could find Sam first and tell her what he had wanted to tell her since he had woken up this morning. He flew through the wall and began searching for Sam.

Sam had decided that she should go back and talk to Danny. He hadn't acted like his usual self, and she was wondering if the ghost had done more to him than he would tell. As she was nearing the school she saw Tucker walking out of it. He spotted her and ran over.

"Sam there you are! I was really worried about you." Sam noticed something strange about Tucker but couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Where's Danny?" she asked, and Tucker blushed and looked embarrassed.

"You probably don't want to see him right now. He said that the only reason you left the cafeteria was because it was that certain time of month for you and-" Sam looked like she was about to kill the certain halfa that was floating above their heads invisibly listening to their conversation.

"He what? Ugh, you know what Tucker, I was going to give him a second chance but that is the last straw!" She shoved past Tucker and stormed into the school. Danny watched her leave and then watched as a smirk spread across Tucker's face; the same smirk that had been on Danny's face when he had insulted Sam at lunch…

Danny was fuming. He appeared and launched himself at Tucker, who gasped in surprise and… phased into the ground. Danny crashed into the grass and watched as Tucker floated back up. Tucker shook violently and Danny watched as the same ghost that had overshadowed him floated out of Tucker.

Tucker fell unconscious to the ground. The ghost laughed and then glared at Danny. "Sam will be mine!" he screamed, and then he vanished into thin air. Danny stood up and then flew towards the school as fast as he could.

Sam stormed through the school looking for Danny. She was going to wring his skinny neck. Someone stepped out of a doorway in front of her and Sam walked straight into him. She looked up straight into a pair of silver eyes.

"Eric!" she said, jumping away from him. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Your eyes are a lovely shade of purple. Don't worry about crashing into me; it seems to happen a lot when you walk out of doors without looking." Eric raised one eyebrow and cocked his head questioningly. "Who put you in such a bad mood?"

Sam sighed. Why were her emotions so easy to read? "I'd… rather not talk about it right now." She said, and Eric didn't ask any further. His reply was much stranger.

"Hmm, I was wondering if you would mind showing me around town. It wouldn't be a date, although I wish it was, but I could really use your help." Sam gasped at how straightforward Eric was.

Suddenly Danny landed beside her. She jumped in shock and then looked at Eric. His face was blank. Danny looked at Eric and said, "Um, I'm a ghost, shouldn't you be running away?" Eric shook his head.

"Sorry, I'm new here." Sam would have laughed but she was too angry at Danny. "Can I ask you something?" he said, and Danny was so shocked by the question that he nodded. "Are ghosts able to take on human forms?"

Danny shook his head and Eric half smirked. "Ok, sorry to have bothered you. Sam and I were just leaving." He walked over to Sam and lifted her up in his surprisingly strong arms. The strange thing was, Sam didn't care. It would probably do Danny good to have his ego deflated a bit.

Eric walked out the door with Sam in his arms. Danny watched them go and felt his heart break. Sam didn't even say anything about being pulled away, and Danny never had a chance to explain what had happened.

"I'm so stupid!" he said out loud. Danny knew that if he had talked to Sam earlier then none of this would be happening. Was everyone against Sam and Danny's relationship? First that ghost shows up and makes Sam hate Danny and then the new kid whisks her away…

Danny's eyes widened as realization hit him. Eric had smirked when Danny had said that ghosts couldn't take on human forms, and Danny also remembered that there were a few ghosts who looked convincingly like humans except for the eyes. Then the faint hope faded as Danny remembered something about Eric that was hard to forget; his eyes were silver.

"Maybe I'm just meant to be alone." He said to the empty school. "After all, who could care for a thing like me?" Spectra's harsh words came back and stung now more than they had before. Danny flew up through the ceiling and into the cloudy sky.

Sam squirmed in Eric's arms. "Please put me down Eric. I'm sure that were safe from Dan- I mean, the ghost now." Instead of doing what she had asked, Eric tightened his grip.

"Sorry Sam, but putting you down would allow you to leave if you wished to, and I can't let that happen." For a second Sam waited for Eric to say, 'You look cute when you're shocked.' But he said nothing, and Sam wondered what she had gotten herself into.

Eric smirked and Sam tried not to look scared. "You know Sam, you really should be careful when you talk to strangers." Chills went up her spine and she suddenly remembered the evil voice the night before.

"You're him aren't you?" Eric looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "You're the stalker from last night!" He smiled almost regretfully and nodded. "Oh… my… God. Help! Danny!" Sam screamed as loud as she could until she felt a hand clamp around her mouth.

"Shut up!" he hissed, and all kindness had left his voice. Sam was helpless as she was dragged into a darkening world.

_**This chapter is donated to Missmeliss4251, who guessed ahead of time that Eric was touched in the head. There is a major hint to a little bit of Eric's history here and I'm wondering how many reviewers will notice.**_


	5. Thickening The Plot

_**Hides behind an angry reader proof wall Well, I finally finished this chapter. I don't even want to know how many of you want to hurt me for updating sooner, but I have no excuses at all.**_

Desiree cackled wickedly as she watched Eric walk towards her with Sam. Usually she didn't grant wishes to ghosts but Eric was the exception. He was very clever and when he wished to have a human appearance he did it very specifically so that she couldn't trick him. Not that she wanted to. Eric had charmed her more than once, and since his reason for looking human was to destroy the ghost boy she was more than willing to help.

She turned invisible and watched as Eric spoke to Sam. "I must admit that I'm surprised that you didn't figure out I was your stalker earlier Sam. I mean come on! A creepy figure follows you home and you almost get caught, and the next day your halfa friend has to go fight a ghost and comes back acting weird. Would you like to know why?"

Sam glared at him but couldn't say anything because she still had her mouth clamped shut. Eric laughed and said, "Because I overshadowed him! Then I simply walked out of him and went out back to seduce you, and then I overshadowed your other friend and made him talk to you."

Sam's eyes widened in shock and she tried again to escape Eric's iron grip. She bit down on his hand hard and he dropped her suddenly. "Ouch!" He glared at her and his eyes blazed a blood red as all traces of silver flooded out of them. Sam stood up and started running as far away as she could get, but the darkness seemed to hold her as tightly as Eric was.

Memories of the night before flooded back as she realized that Eric was walking closer and she was sprinting and yet she still could not escape him. He reached her quickly and pulled her back into his arms. Ectoplasm shot from his hand and bound her as tightly as ropes.

Eric lifted off the ground and Sam realized that they were flying. She had gotten herself into a bigger mess than she could have imagined. Where was Danny in a time like this?

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Danny flew through the night sky. He finally realized his love for Sam and yet he still couldn't have her. Eric and she were probably having a blast somewhere. Danny stared at the sky and noticed a strange black patch blocking out the glittering stars. It was a cloudless night, and even if the patch was a cloud it was moving far to fast.

He flew up towards the strange blackness and launched himself into it. It swirled around him and then he found himself back in the starry sky. The dark patch was still flying away and Danny decided to follow it. Something about the darkness made him nervous.

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Eric continued flying and finally saw what he was looking for. A large castle came into his vision and he flew down to the door. He didn't know that Danny was right behind him or that Danny had been here before…

Vlad opened the door and smirked when he saw who it was. "Eric, how nice to see that you could make it. And you brought a friend."

Danny ground his teeth and just barely managed to remain hiding. He knew that Eric was evil all along! Now Sam was captured by Vlad. Eric scanned around the yard as if suspecting something and Danny saw that his eyes were now red. Danny felt his blood boil. Eric was the ghost that had made Sam mad at him!

Danny watched as they entered the castle, and as soon as the door was closed he flew after them and phased through it. Green and gold Packers memorabilia lined the walls, and Danny wanted to blast it all just to make Vlad angry. He held back from doing that and floated down to listen to a conversation that had broken out between Eric and Vlad.

They talked as they walked towards what appeared to be a living room. Eric still had Sam clasped in his arms.

"When do I get my reward Plasmius?" Eric said. Danny recognized his voice, which was now totally inhuman, and was now glaring at the back of Eric's head. His voice was terrifyingly evil, and there was now no doubt that he was the ghost who had attacked them in the hallway.

"Soon Eric." Vlad said. "There is one last thing you need to do for me."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "I assume that it isn't something as simple as seducing a lovesick girl." Sam felt a rush of anger at this, but could only struggle in the ectobonds. Eric set her on a couch.

Vlad laughed evilly. "No my dear boy, this is a very special mission." Vlad forced a smile. He hated Eric with a passion. He was terribly smug, but what Vlad hated the most was his connections with Desiree. The boy had that ghost wrapped around his fist. Anything he desired was granted to him.

This time Eric gave Vlad an incredulous look. "Boy?" He smirked. "I'm several decades older than you Plasmius."

Sam felt like throwing up. She had fallen in love with some evil old ghost! Maybe she _was_ lovesick. Eric continued speaking. "But enough of this… oh lets be honest, terribly boring banter, and get on with the point." He smiled, and Sam saw to her terror that his teeth were pointed like a wolf's.

Vlad's eyes flashed red angrily. "Fine. If you insist. You are to go to Clockwork's castle and retrieve the Thermos we have discussed." Eric's red eyes widened and all traces of smugness left his face.

"You want me to retrieve _Him_?" He sounded just as panicked as Danny felt. Eric was going to be sent to get Dan, and then the world that Danny had tried so hard to protect would be gone.

"Yes, and if you don't then you will be left at his mercy when I free him myself." Vlad smirked. Eric knew that Dan had no mercy.

"Fine." Eric said. "But how will you know that I haven't just flown off into the ghost zone?"

"That's what this is for." He clapped his hands once and an orb of light with one eye appeared. Danny realized that it was a ghost, and then saw that the one eye was a camera lens. "He's my latest experiment, and will follow you till the ends of the earth if I tell him too. Which I have by the way."

The ghost turned its eye on Eric and Vlad picked up a remote from a nearby chair. He pressed a button and a large plasma screen TV appeared. On it Eric could be seen glaring at the camera. "Fine Plasmius, while you stay here watching me work, I'll be becoming famous for unleashing the most evil being upon the Ghost Zone.

"Go." Vlad said, and Eric looked startled for a moment before he turned and flew away with the camera following him.

Vlad watched as Eric flew down the down to his secret lab and entered the Ghost Zone. Then Vlad felt very cold. Anger filled him but he held it back and let his ghost sense guide him.

He launched a single ectoblast and knocked Daniel to the ground. "Hello Daniel, it's such a wonderful surprise to see you." Vlad bound Danny with ectobonds and then put him on the couch next to Sam. "You have a front row seat to the end of the world.


End file.
